DANGER COMES ON THE HOOF

Smack!

Against Dick’s face came the palm of the larger youth’s right hand.  It was the old, familiar trick of “pushing in his face.”  So quickly did that manoeuvre come that Dick, caught off his balance, was shoved backward until he tripped and fell.

Then the stranger vanished with the speed of one accustomed to flight through the woods.

His eyes full of sand from the fall, Dick struggled to his feet, rubbing his eyelids, just as Dave Darrin came running up.

“What was it?” demanded Dave.

“Come on!  We ought to catch him yet!” cried young Prescott, turning and running into the woods.  But Dick’s eyes were not quite as keen as they had been, and Darry, once he had the general direction, outstripped his chum in the race.

Once away from the blazing fire of oil-soaked wood, however, the boys found themselves at a disadvantage in the woods.  At last Darry stopped, listening.  Then, hearing sounds, he wheeled, dashing at a figure.

“Get out with you, Darry!” laughed Prescott good-humoredly.

“I thought you were-----”

“The other fellow!  Yes; I know,” laughed Dick.

“Where is he?  Listen!”

But only the night sounds of the woods answered them.

“We’d better put for camp,” whispered Dick, “or that fellow will slip around us and pillage the supplies before we get there.”

Dave started back at a dog trot, Dick following at a more leisurely gait.  Both were soon by the campfire again.

“Was it the same fellow?” demanded Darry, in a low voice.

“It must have been,” Dick nodded, “though you didn’t see him at all when you encountered him, and I didn’t get a view of his face.  But he had on a tan colored shirt.  He also had on brown corduroy trousers and low-cut black shoes.  He kept his torn cap pulled down over his eyes so that I couldn’t get a look at his face that would enable me to know it again if I saw it.”

“Hang the fellow!” growled Darry.  “Does he take us for a human meal ticket with six coupons?”

“He must be hungry,” rejoined Dick, “when he could get away with all that steak and then come back, within a few hours, for more of our food.”

“How did you come to catch him?” Dave asked curiously.

Prescott explained how he had managed to remain awake and on guard, against a possible second visit from the young prowler.

“So we’ve got to stay up the rest of the night, and mount guard every night, have we?” grunted Darry disgustedly.  “Fine!”

“We’ll either have to watch, or part with our food,” Dick assented.

“We ought to have brought Harry Hazelton’s bull-dog.  That would have spared us guard duty.”

“I’m glad we didn’t bring the pup,” Dick rejoined.  “That pup is growing older, and crosser.  He’d bite a pound or two out of some prowler’s leg, and we don’t want that to happen.”